title: Future risk for disability pension among people with sickness absence due to otoaudiological diagnoses: a population-based cohort study with a 12-year follow-up.
abstract: Hearing difficulties is a growing public health problem and more knowledge of consequences of those difficulties in working life is warranted.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the future risk of being granted a disability pension (DP) among people with sickness absence with an otoaudiological diagnoses (OAD) compared to other sickness absentees.
  
  
  METHODS
  A population-based prospective cohort study of all 40,786 people in a Swedish county who in 1985 were aged 16-64 and had a new sick-leave spell >7 days. Those were followed for 12 years with regard to DP. Hazard ratios (HR) + 95% confidence intervals (CI) of being granted DP was calculated among those with sick leave due to OAD compared to people with sickness absence with other diagnoses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 1985, 515 people had a new sick-leave spell with an OAD. Twelve years later, 36% of those had been granted DP, compared to 24% of all other sickness absentees. Their HR for DP was 1.42 (95% CI 1.23-1.64) adjusting for gender and age. Compared to men, women with an OAD had a HR of DP of 1.24 (95% CI 0.90-1.71), when adjusted for age. The HR for DP regarding those aged>45 years and sickness absent with OAD was 2.63 (95% CI 1.95-3.55) compared to the sickness absentees with OAD below 45 years of age, adjusted for gender.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The risk for future DP was more than 40% higher among those initially on sickness absence due to OAD than among other sickness absentees.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Insurance Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. klas.gustafsson@ki.se
authors.forename: Klas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.forename: Gunnel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Backenroth-Ohsako
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rosenhall
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ternevall-Kjerulf
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ulfendahl
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alexanderson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018582:Sick Leave; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D014717:Vertigo / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation; D055815:Young Adult